Red-Eyed Sleeping Dragon
by DemonFoxBK201
Summary: Instead of growing up with Sayo and Ieyesu, Tatsumi was sold off by his village to the Empire. After being put in an assassin's training program, he ranked in the top eight and trained with the elites. Years later, along with his best friend Akame, he defects from the Empire. Now the duo works with Night Raid. Tatsumi has a different Teigu.
1. The Uncorrupted

**This isn't a oneshot, but I likely won't update for a loooonngg time. I will update both We Will Prevail and Kill the Deceiver soon enough. The only reason I didn't was because I got caught replaying a video game. This is mostly how I see Akame's recruitment went.**

 **OwO**

A field of destruction. Everywhere as far as the eye can see, crumbled buildings, broken windows, fire, smoke, but no blood. If you looked in the middle of it all, you could see three figures.

The one standing opposite to the two others, had white hair and one purple eye. The other was covered with an eyepatch and, along with a mechanical arm, were scars from a fearsome enemy. She held a gun and stood, waiting.

The other two had similar cloaks on. Both were bright white, but while one had a high collar the other had a hood. The one on the left was taller than the other. His hood was down, revealing dark brown hair and forest green eyes. The other had long black hair, and red eyes. The green-eyed boy was standing at the girl's side, glaring at the woman. Said girl was gripping her arm as if in pain, yet no blood could be seen. She too was glaring.

The two of them had many similarities. For example, that 'fearsome enemy' to the eyepatched woman was an ally, since they worked under the same people. They both had lost many friends, as well. But above all, both of them looked tired. Not just of fighting this woman, but also from working under the veiled corruption.

Both grew up in the wild, were sold to the Empire, had been trained as assassins, and many other things. Right now, both were confused. The other person had told them words that defied all of their beliefs, and all they worked for, yet the truth of her words was obvious. Go into any village or city, and you would be able to see the Empire's dreaded marks.

Should they follow the place they grew up in? The Empire. They were sold off by their families. It was the only place they knew, but it was filled with corruption, far too woven into a previously mighty Empire. If they followed the Empire, would they fall? Just like their comrades, that died separate deaths, yet were grieved the same.

Or, should they follow this woman? A former general, defected from the Empire after seeing the corruption. A woman who said she did it for the oppressed civilians of the Empire. A woman who held her hand out, promising their cooperation with them would perform the goals they had been led to believe they were already doing. Same job, different enemies.

"Your names are Tatsumi and Akame, am I right?" The former general spoke up.

"Yes." The two spoke in unison. The glares they had leveled onto her were now stares. Much less hostility.

She seemed to notice this, and smiled softly. "Have you decided yet?"

The two best friends looked at each other. While their friends had fallen, they had not. While normaly friendship was a weakness for assassins, their bond strengthened them. Whatever decision was made, involved both of them.

The girl, Akame, looked to her companion. Tatsumi slowly nodded to her, he accepted. She looked back to the woman, Najenda. "Yes. We accept."

Najenda looked joyful, before shaking it off and turning serious. "The Revolutionary Army will appreciate your help. They will likely send you to our assassins group. Here," She held out a small piece if paper, "Come here and you will be escorted to a small side base. It won't have any maps or documents. They want to make sure we can trust you before sending you somewhere important, sorry."

Even though her words were bothersome, both nodded and Tatsumi accepted the piece of paper. After opening it up and inspecting it, he spoke up, "It's fine. Betraying such a place won't have them throwing a party or anything." Despite his words, no hint of annoyance or anything else was on his face. Emotionless. Akame was the same. They spoke in monotone as well.

Najenda had noticed this but neglected to say anything. It was how they were trained after all.

A few minutes later, it was decided that they would tell the Empire that she had planted a trap and escaped. "It has happened before. You, being known for you cleverness, would likely do something like that. It will not be questioned." Akame spoke the first and last sentence while Tatsumi spoke the second. They were in perfect sync.

Ten minutes later, all traces of the three being there were gone. Only the destruction left, said there was a fight there.

 ** _A Week Later_**

The Revolutionary Army was beginning to think they had been tricked. Only Najenda's words kept them from withdrawing the people waiting for them at the small base.

While on a mission near the previously said meeting point, was when the two defected. They acted normally at first, but after first watch, they were gone. Akame made an attempt to convince her sister, who was on the mission with her, to come with the two. She was, much to her disbelief, firmy denied.

Time was quickly growing shorter, since a messenger had found their tent empty. Tatsumi ended up convincing Akame to leave her sister.

In no time at all, only Kurome knew what had happened to Akame and her partner. The two disappeared into the night. With black cloaks on and a new moon out, they were practically invisible.

When they got to said meeting point, Najenda was standing in the middle of a clearing, smiling triumphantly. "Who said they wouldn't come?"

It was apparent to the two that the Revolutionary Army had spies in the Empire.

The two were quickly let inside.

Twelve days later, after extensive searching and finally giving up, the Empore branded the assassins as traitors. Wanted posters were placed around every corner of the Capital. Even some villages had them.

Two days afterwards a duo could be seen running on the rooftops. Either leaving or going to the place of their target's grave. Afterwards returning to Night Raid's base, where they had found and assortment of people unique in weird ways.

Their ultimate goal had switched. Before it was to end the Revolution. Now it was to kill the cause of the corruption, the Prime Minister himself.

 **OwO**

 **This went a little quick... But it is the prologue so oh well.**

 **Should I have a different person take Tatsumi's place? It won't be first person for the OC or not so important character (I was thinking Ieyesu since he fits kinda).**

 **Please review. I appreciate all favs and follows.**


	2. The Base of Killers

**I don't know why, but my best ideas always seem to come when I'm half-asleep. I'm not kidding. I honestly had no idea how to begin chapter 2. Then, laying in my bed and falling asleep, ideas came to me. I had to type them in my notes on my phone to make sure I didn't forget...**

* * *

As the sun rose to give light to the Empire, three people walked through the forest surrounding the Capital.

"You know, since you didn't make any move to come, many people thought a small army would meet with the squad stationed there rather than you two." Najenda was leading the way to a different base. A base for an assassin squad.

"Sorry. If we left at any other time, there was a decent risk of being caught." Tatsumi's monotone voice answered her. He and Akame were completely silent unless spoken to. In fact, Najenda had mistakenly thought several times that they were no longer behind her, only to find them trudging on behind her. It unnerved her, though she would never admit it.

"I figured." As they continued on in silence, the trees briefly opened up to reveal where they were going.

"Is that the base?" A hint of awe was in his voice. When she looked back she saw both assassins had stopped, and we're looking at the building with slightly wider eyes. She found herself smiling at the scene.

"Yes. Not what you expected is it?"

"No not really."

"It's so... open."

"Yes Akame, it's very open. But it has remained hidden from the Empire yes? So I think it's perfect." Najenda had a hint of pride in her voice as she to, looked up to the massive base.

As they continued on, a few questions came up.

"How many members of this assassin squad are there?" Akame asked.

"Including me and you two, six. And by the way, our official name is Night Raid."

"Six... Who are the other three?" This time it was Tatsumi who asked.

"Lubbock, my personal aid and Night Raid's imformation gatherer, used to serve under me in military before I defected. He came with me and is still very loyal to me.

Then there's Bulat. He also defected from the army after seeing the corruption. You two know about him right?" They both nodded.

"Right. But Tatsumi, be aware that he's gay okay?" His puzzled look caused Akame to chuckle slightly. To which he immediately fixed his expression, but Akame still smiled slightly at his mistake.

"Anyway, then there's Schele. She's very kind but she's also an airhead. Don't be suprised if you find her making very obvious mistakes."

"If you say so." Tatsumi said bluntly. Akame nodded her head in agreement.

By the end of the conversation, they had reached the base. As Najenda led them through the halls Tatsumi and Akame were silent.

After a few minutes of silence, Najenda stopped in front of a door, leading the two to stop as well.

When they walked through the door, as Najenda said earlier, there were three people sitting at a table, clearly waiting. As they walked into the room, the three at the table stared at them. Two were in suprise, the other was just blank.

"Najenda-san aren't these two..?" The green haired speaker trailed off. The other man spoke up.

"I don't mean to be rude but why are they here?" He eyed the assassin duo cautiously. From what he knew, these two were very loyal to their group, and in turn, the Empire.

"Why, Bulat, they are new recruits!" The green-eyed teen, very dramatically, fell out of his chair. Even so, newly-named Bulat just nodded his head knowingly.

"N-Najenda-san are they the infamous assassin duo of the Empire? Why would they even want to come here if it's not to kill us?! Or maybe it's a mission. They'll give secret reports about us to the Empire!" **(A/N: Reference? Anyone?)** An accusing finger was pointed at Tatsumi. In turn, both Tatsumi and Akame narrowed their eyes.

"Lubbock! Are you doubting my decision? I myself was their target! If they were loyal to the Empire they would have killed me then! However I convinced them not to. If you doubt them, then you're doubting me." Najenda was annoyed if the tone of her voice said anything.

Lubbock, however, looked like a deer caught in headlights. Akame was staring at him. Tatsumi was _glaring_ at him. His most important person was yelling at him...

Lubbock closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them his attitude went in a complete 180.

"Sorry. So, Najenda-san can really convince someone right?" A slightly nervous smile was on his face but even so he held out his hand to shake. While Tatsumi cautiously shoke his hand, Akame was silently looking at the other two.

The man was Bulat, that much she was sure of. But he looked very different from what she remembered. _It must be the hair._

The other was probably Schele. Even after Lubbock's short-lived argument or Bulats cautious question she still stared blankly at them.

Afterwards, Najenda held out a thin book to them. "It's okay if we record your Teigu in here right?" They both nodded.

Akame drew her katana and carefully held it out. "One-Cut Killer, Murasame. Even the smallest of cuts will lead to death." Najenda nodded and took the sword with her metal hand.

Tatsumi also drew a sword, however this one wasn't a katana. It was dual-bladed. The entire sword was black. Despite the color, though, it was very plain. A darkened version of an Imperial sword. "Shadow of the World, Yugure. It allows me to control shadows." Najenda took this one as well and gave them to Lubbock.

After writing details Lubbock looked up as if remembering something, "Oh yeah, do they have Trump Cards?" To which Akame and Tatsumi looked at each other, "Yeah both of them but we can't use right now." Lubbock nodded and held out the two swords, which their respective owners took.

Najenda decided to break the slightly akward silence, "Okay so now that that's done, how about something to eat?"

As if on cue Akame's stomach growled. Instantly Tatsumi turned away to hide his laughing but his shaking shoulders said more than enough. Akame not quite knowing she should be embarrassed, took to glaring at Tatsumi.

"A-ah, if you wouldn't mind, can we take over the cooking? Akame is honestly a glutton and she's never satisfied with certain foods." Tatsumi turned around the only sign of his fit of laughing was Akame's solid glare.

While Lubbock seemed to have backed into a corner Najenda just smiled at them, "Of course!"

"N-Najenda-san?" Lubbock questioned awkwardly.

"Yes, Lubbock?" Her voice was sickly sweet and a not-so-sweet smile was on her face.

"N-nothing." He slumped over in defeat.

"Well then! You two can go look for what you want to cook!" Tatsumi nodded and left the room with Akame in tow. When they were gone Lubbock looked up to Najenda.

"Najenda-san how are you so sure that they won't poison the food? Or try to kill us in our sleep..?"

Najenda lit a cigar before sitting in her throne-like chair. "I can relate to them in many ways, that's why I gave them this offer to work for us instead of just trying and probably failing to kill them both. If you look through their emotionless facade, you can see two kids not professional assassins. Give them a chance."

Two "Yes ma'am"s were her answer. She didn't need to worry about Schele, she'd probably accept anybody.

 ** _With Tatsumi and Akame_**

It took a bit of time to figure out where the exit was, but once they found it, they set off to hunt. Their silent footsteps crept up on a rare species of Evilbird that makes its nest in the ground. It blended in with the ground but that didn't cause trouble for the two hiding in the bushes.

Tatsumi and Akame looked at each other. They both nodded at the same time. Tatsumi drew his sword and vanished in black fog. Reappearing behind the bird silently, his sword found its way through the birds heart.

As the Evilbird went limp, Akame came out from the bushes carrying a large amount of sticks, soon enough, a fire was going and the Evilbird cooking. That was when Tatsumi decided to speak.

"Hmm, so what should we get for the others?"

 ** _Later on That Day_**

It was after about an hour that the two recently-turned traitors returned to their new base. They brought Koga Tuna from a pond that they found. The table was mostly silent while they ate. Then Lubbock walked into the room.

"Najenda-san! We got a request!"

As everyone looked to him Najenda smirked. " Who is it?"

"A Captain named Rojin. Seems he regularly steals girls off the streets... The guards are guilty to since they get to share sometimes."

"Was it confirmed?" She asked, knowing what he was implying.

"Yes."

"Very well Night Raid accepts this mission. I want you all to go. But only Akame and Tatsumi can fight. I want you three to see what their capable of."

"Okay, Najenda-san."

"That's all right! Maybe I can train with them!"

"Hmm? Okay?"

 _ **That Night**_

As if on display five people stood on metal wires, looking as if they were floating. The crescent moon almost seemed to glow red as if foreshadowing the demise of the targets. Below them was an office building where their target regularly slept.

It had only been about a minute since they got up there, but already guards were streaming out of the building. Shouts of, "Assassins! Assassins are here!" And the like could be heard. Even a shout of Night Raid was heard.

"Akame-chan, Tatsumi-kun, there all yours." Lubbock said.

"Eliminate." They said in unison before dropping off the wires. They landed side by side and calmly drew their swords.

"W-wha? Aren't they..?" As one guard came to his conclusion a horrified look came across his face. "G-guys... What ever you do... Don't touch that katana. And keep your eyes on the boy!"

"What do you..?" Before another guard could finish his sentence, Tatsumi vanished into the night.

"Impo-"

 _Shlik_

A black sword stabbed through his neck, silencing him forever. Akame dashed forward within seconds a dozen guard had their throats cut. Akame made to deal with the guards while Tatsumi assassinated Rojin. As Tatsumi appeared in front of the entrance ha destroyed the lock and ran in. Not seeing any guards he walked into the door shadow and disappeared.

In minutes he returned to Akame's side, seemingly appearing out of thin air. "Target eliminated."

She then turned to the people waiting on the wires, "All targets eliminated."

Lubbock's response was a gaping mouth and awestruck expression. "Are you serious? It's only been like five minutes! There's no way you can kill all those people in such a short time!"

Akame tilted her head in confusion, but with her emotionless facade it didn't have the desired effect. Instead Tatsumi asked the question.

"Well then, how long do you guys usually take?"

"If it isn't serious usually 10-20 minutes..."

"Well that means their both strong and fast! Let's go give our report!" Bulat had quickly accepted them. As they jumped into the forest, Tatsumi and Akame smiled at each other, another mission finished, not a single wound.

* * *

 **I was so bummed out when Until The End was published... But I'm not going to hold it against the author. Supposedly he didn't steal my Tatsumi-from-Akame's-group idea. That story seems to have gotten romantic very quickly... I won't do this like that. Only problem is, he's using some of my ideas for this story before I could even finish this chapter. So now I have to like revise my thoughts for this story, or at least a few of them.**

 **Actually logically speaking, for Zank's illusion would my Akame love Tatsumi or Kurome more? :l**


	3. Golden Lioness

**Updates will be either more often or much less often. Depends on how much homework I get... Let's just hope it's not a lot... I don't even want to think about it :(**

* * *

It has been nearly two weeks since the assassin duo join Night Raid. Over that time they had grown acquainted with the four unique fighters.

It seems somewhere along the line Lubbock had grown comfortable with them because no more wary glances or talks of mistrust came from him. In fact it seems he thinks of Tatsumi as a nice friend as shown when he asked if he wanted to peep with him... Tatsumi glared at him for the rest of the day...

A somewhat unusual breakfast was currently in place. Consisting of mostly meat of several kinds, it was now becoming the norm for them. That is, until Lubbock burst through the door with a handful of papers.

"Najenda-san! I think I found a potential recruit!"

"What? Describe this person and why they have potential." Najenda had been eating when he walked in but she quickly abandoned her food in favor of this unknown person.

"A-ah. Her name is Leone. Grew up in the slums. Seems that after some rich kids started trampling smaller kids with their horses, she literally started knocking them around."

"Oh? We'll see if she's interested. But just hint don't tell the full story."

"Got it." As he left back to the Capital, Akame looked over to Tatsumi. Noticing her look he nodded to her. Immediately both got up and put their dishes in the sink. Soon enough they left to go hunt to try and fill Akame's bottomless pit...

After watching them leave Najenda spoke.

"So? It's been two weeks, what do you two think about them?"

"I think they're beginning to loosen up. They aren't to cautious any more. I still find their story tragic..." Bulat trailed off.

"They depend on each other..." Was Schele's simple answer. Bulat frowned at this.

"They can only depend on one another. And while this makes them strong, a mistake could lead to both of their demise..."

 ** _Later That Day_**

"Well here we are." As Lubbock stopped to the entrance to the base a blond women looked upon the towers.

"Isn't this too, I don't know _open_ for an assassin base?"

"It's remained hidden so far hasn't it?"

"Good point." While the blond made to get inside, Lubbock mentally cursed himself for getting tricked into bringing her here.

"Hmm?" It seems Tatsumi and Akame had gotten back from hunting, as they were what walked out of the surrounding forest.

"Oh? Are you part of Night Raid? Now what's a handsome young man like you doing here Hmm?" Leone shoved Tatsumi's head in her breasts with a devious smirk as she said this.

"H-hey!" Lubbock panicked as Tatsumi struggled to get free.

"Let him go."

"Huh?" Not realizing Akame's stare had turned harsh when Tatsumi was trapped, she had briefly ignored her.

"Oh? Is he your boyfriend? I apologize then." She released him. As Tatsumi stepped back breathing harshly with a puzzled look on his face Akame said, "He's not my boyfriend."

"W-well, let's go Akame." The duo walked off into the base with Akame flashing a glare at Lubbock.

"Wait, Akame? Like that famous traitor assassin?" Leone asked turning to Lubbock.

"Yep and Tatsumi her partner." Lubbock said with a sigh.

"So this is where they went..."

As they walked in Lubbock showed her to the meeting room.

"Huh? Lubbock, who is this?" Najenda was the first to question about the blond. Akame was staring at Tatsumi almost blankly while he was looking anywhere but at the red-eyed assassin.

"A-Ah, this is the recruit I was talking about earlier." As he finished saying this both Akame and Tatsumi glared at him. The combined glares of the two assassins had Lubbock sweating nervously while he looked at Najenda. _Najenda-san help me!_

Najenda just ignored her friend's behavior while standing up to greet Leone.

"We heard about what you did to those noble kids and why. Would you have and interest in being an assassin and helping the Revolutionary Army?"

She grinned, "Getting this guy to bring me here was enough of an answer right?" She said pointing at Lubbock, who by now looked about ready to run if the assassins made any move.

Oh wait, Tatsumi blinked... Bye, Lubba. With the source(?) of their annoyance gone, the duo took to staring at Najenda.

They had shook hands after agreeing on something, probably about Leone's new occupation.

"Well then Akame, Tatsumi, how about you two show her around the base?" In unison their eyes narrowed but they nodded anyway. They stood up at the same time before walking out of the door, Leone followed them.

"Hmm I wonder why they don't like her." Schele thought aloud.

 ** _With Akame and Tatsumi_**

"Sorry about earlier, since I joined just now I guess that means you two are my superiors right?" Leone asked. Despite her apology she still had a devious grin on her face while looking between Akame and Tatsumi.

"I don't think so. Najenda is the boss and we follow her orders. But even so there isn't a big difference on professional and rookie here." Akame answered.

"Great! Then I'll fit right in!" Tatsumi ended up sighing and looking pointedly at Akame. She understood his silent question: _This is going to take awhile isn't it?_

She nodded.

 _ **The Next Day**_

As Leone walked into the meeting room and to the table, she stopped yawning as she smelled breakfast.

"Why do I smell only meat?"

"Well it might be because that is literally the only Akame ever wants and if she wants it Tatsumi won't refuse making it... So we eat all-meat meals 3 times a day, every day, ever since they joined." Lubbock said, finally finishing the explanation.

"Really? I could get used to this." As she said this Akame and Tatsumi came out with the food. Plates covered with meat of all kinds were placed in front each member. An especially large plate was in front of Akame.

It took less than a minute for the plate to be empty. When Tatsumi saw this he sighed and gave her his biggest piece, to which she ate quickly.

"Wow. Akame can eat a _lot_." Leone noticed.

"Yeah. I don't know what kind of stomachs she and her sister have. They're both gluttons. I don't eat much for obvious reasons." Tatsumi spoke not the least bit annoyed when Akame took _another_ piece from his plate.

"Really? That's interesting. You know, you two are kinda different from what I imagined of professional assassins." Leone pointed out.

"You haven't seen them on a job yet." Lubbock told her, "I swear they have this switch..."

"Yes, they are quite a valuable asset to help our cause." Najenda said from the door. "I hope all of y'all are ready. We just got a request."

"Really? My first mission?" Leone said with a grin.

"Yes. Akame, Tatsumi, watch her. But only interfere if she's having a hard time." The both nodded. "And Leone?"

"Hmm?"

"What kind of weapon do you use? I haven't seen anything of the sort on you at all."

"I don't need a weapon. I just turn into a beast and beat them to death." A feral smile certainly had the 'beast' feel.

"Turn into a beast?"

"Yep! See!" As she said this cat-like ears appeared on her head. A tail could be seen as well. Her hands grew larger and sprouted fur and claws. Her eyes and hair gained an animalistic look too. "Well?"

"Teigu?!" Najenda exclaimed.

"It seems so..."

"Oh yeah I think this is one of those." Leone said, motioning to her belt. "Lionelle. That's the name."

"I see. This will even the odds. I look forward to Akame and Tatsumi's report." Najenda said, smiling at Leone.

"Roger that! Come on you two!" Leone ran out the door.

"Ah! Wait! I didn't tell you who the target was!" Najenda panicked as she ran out the door as well.

 _ **Later On a That Day**_

Najenda had told them that their target was a family of nobles who secretly sell illegal stuff. Like a mini black market. It was easily confirmed.

"All right! This is all on me right?" Leone whispered. But as she cracked her now furry knuckles it wasn't as silent as she thought.

"What was that?!"

"I don't know go figure it out!"

A grumbling guard was soon seen walking near their position.

"Oops. Well let's get started shall we?" Leone crawled forward before jumping on the man. Hands were placed on his neck and barely a second later a _Crack_ was heard. The man went limp afterwards.

With a smirk Leone went on to the other guards. The duo sneaked around on the rooftops. Only the occasional flash of green or red signaled the two assassins were still there.

Half a dozen guards were dead before a shout was heard.

"He's dead! No way! Hmm? Another one dead?!... ASSASSINS!"

That was when it started getting loud.

Leone immediately quickened her pace. When she encountered a guard, a powerful strike to the neck put them out of their misery. The place was in a panic trying to find Leone.

"Dammit! Where are they?!"

"Show yourselves!"

"Of all times!"

"I knew this would happen!"

It was only a matter of time until Leone was found. When this happened the guards pulled out their guns and shit her a few times.

Pas this was starting a flash of black revealed the two assassins who went to work with the remaining guards. When the noble showed themselves, they too were quickly dealt with.

"You didn't have to jump in you know. I forgot to tell you, but my Teigu has healing abilities." The bullets were on the ground with a small bit of blood on them. However, Leone was unscathed, or at least that's how it appeared.

Tatsumi frowned, "The targets have been eliminated. Let's give our report." Akame nodded.

 _ **An Hour Later**_

"Hmm. You did quite good on your first mission. The healing ability is very useful. But next time go for the target rather than the guards." Najenda said as she finished thinking about the report.

"Yeah..." Leone said sheepishly. "Akame, Tatsumi, sorry for making you jump in. You don't seem to like me much hahah..."

"It's fine."

"What is?"

"Everything. We were just hoping you would last past your first mission. I hope we can work together from now on." Akame nodded in agreement and both of them held opposite hands out to shake.

"Yep definitely different from what I used to think." Leone said as she shook their hands.

* * *

 **I think I might have portrayed Leone a little bit like Chelsea... And she might've been a little OOC at the end there but still!**

 **FYI:**

 **I was actually going to end this at around 900 words but I decided not to because I don't update very often.**


	4. Friend From Before

**Well it seems updates will likely come later rather than sooner. I plan to update Kill the Deciever within the next month. We Will Prevail might be rewritten though, I think it's to close to canon for me to be able to work with.**

* * *

As the moon descended, six figures raced acrossed the rooftops. They all were headed for one destination. For some odd reason, each of them seemed to have a color scheme... Red, black, green, blue, purple, and yellow.

As cobblestone and brick turned to dirt and trees, soon enough their destination came into view. The familiar black owl under a full moon marked the white buildings as owned by Night Raid.

* * *

"Boss! We're back~!" Leone called out as she entered the front door. In the week that had passed, she had quickly became friends with the rest of Night Raid, if you don't count a few mishaps with Lubbock. She personally considered Akame and Tatsumi her best friends, and the best people to tease.

As the group walked in to the meeting room, there were two people waiting for them instead of the usual one.

"Najenda-san who is this?" Lubbock questioned

Standing to the side of Najenda was a girl. Her pink hair was unkept and her clothes were ragged and a little too small for her. But despite her poor appearance, the look in her pink eyes said you had to _earn_ her respect.

A smile sprouted on Najenda's face, "A new recruit." She said simply.

"Wha-? But that's the fourth in one month!"

"Are you trying to say that there's something wrong with expanding our numbers?"

"Uh..."

"Anyway," Najenda continued, "Her name is Mein. Half her blood is from a tribe in the West so she definitely knows of discrimination."

Bulat nodded grimly at this. Even people from the country had it hard. Being partially a different race would be much harder.

"Leone could you take her to get a new wardrobe tommorow? She personally requested it."

"Of course! I'll help out a fellow newbie!" Leone didn't seem to care to much about the serious atmosphere.

"And, one last thing. For obvious reasons I can't use my Teigu as well as I used to be able to. And apparently Mein here has good eyes and concentration, so I've decided to give her Pumpkin!"

To say Lubbock was against it was an understatement.

"But Najenda-san! A Teigu isn't something you can just hand down! Even if she is a good sniper we could find her something else...!"

"There's no point in owning a Teigu if you won't _ever_ be able to use it to its full extent." Bulat said, shooting down all remaining arguments from Lubbock.

"But..."

"Hmph. I don't care what you give me, as long as I get to see _that_ bastard dead at my feet!" It was all too obvious who she was talking about.

"Well welcome aboard then!" Bulat said cheerfully.

"Hmm? Aren't you..?" Tatsumi muttered a little loudly. Everyone heard.

"Wha-? Ah!" Mein pointed at him almost accusingly. "You're the two... That helped me..."

Tatsumi gave a small smile while Akame nodded. They both remembered the event that first wavered their loyalty to the Empire, four years ago.

* * *

 _A four-years-younger Tatsumi walked alongside his red-eyed friend. Their 'father' told them to have a look around the town, so the group of eight had split up, but Akame and Tatsumi stayed together. They looked around, their younger selves mistaking the glances of fear and annoyance to be ones of awe or hope._

 _The duo merely walked through the town, slowly, as to take in the details. Chances are, their 'father' will have some test for them._

 _Suddenly, a sound came to their ears. A sound they would stop no matter what; crying. Quickly they ran to the source only to find a dreadful sight._

 _"P-please... S-stop." A small pink-haired girl was crying. A kid, likely the same age, but bigger than her, snarled at her before throwing a rock at her._

 _"As if you creep!" He shouted._

 _The oversized pebble hit her shoulder, tearing her already torn and dirtied shirt revealing cuts and bruises that never got to heal. Already a new bruise was forming where the rock hit her._

 _"What are you doing!?" Tatsumi yelled at the kid. Drawing his weapon at the time; a Shingu named Genso which allowed him to make simple illusions. Akame's Kiriichimonji was pointed in his direction as well._

 _"Wha-?" He trailed off finally noticing twin glares and two very sharp looking swords._

 _"Uh... Wait why are you defending the creep?! You should be defending me and beating her for telling me to stop!" Looks like he's a 'noble'._

 _"Get away from her!" Tatsumi growled, taking an intimidating step forward._

 _With a frightened grumble he ran off, leaving the girl to stare at her saviors, which in her mind, just wanted to take the torture to the next level judging by the sharp blades that she thought were going to turn to her. To her surprise, both were sheathed once the offending kid ran off._

 _The green-eyed boy slowly walked toward her, "Are you okay?" He asked holding out his hand. The girl flinched away only to open her eyes again when she realized he wasn't going to strike her. She nervously and cautiously took his hand, and barely held back a scream when he pulled her up._

 _"U-umm..." She stuttered._

 _"Let's get you patched up." The red-eyed one said. "Why was that kid hurting you?"_

 _"I-I don't know. T-they say I'm a creep or an abomination or that 'I s-shouldn't exist'..." She whimpered._

 _"Why would he do that..?" Tatsumi mumbled._

 _"Let's take her to the that medic we met when we first came here." Akame told Tatsumi._

 _"Yeah good idea. Come on, we know someone who can help you." He said as he gently led The pink-haired girl towards their camp._

 _The pink-haired girl watched in awe as the pain from her wounds slowly disappeared and white gauze was wrapped around them._

 _"T-thanks," she stuttered to he saviors. She looked up at them with a slightly embarrassed stare, looking away whenever one of them looked her in the eyes._

 _"It's fine. We are training to save people anyway." Tatsumi said smiling._

 _Akame nodded in agreement, "Where are your parents?" She asked._

 _The girl looked away, "I don't have any." She softly whispered._

 _Nevertheless her two saviors had heard her, exchanging a look of sadness. They both knew what it felt like to be abandoned._

 _"What's your name?" Tatsumi asked._

 _The girl stared at him for a few silent seconds. "Mein." She muttered._

 _Akame smiled. A rare occurrence even when she was with Tatsumi. "I'm Akame. This is my best friend Tatsumi." Tatsumi looked more suprised on the fact that she introduced both of them than her smile, though._

 _Mein, seeing the happy smile on her red-eyed savior, smiled too. Tatsumi himself let a satisfied smiled grace his face._

 _That simple exchange of smiles forged a bond between them unbroken for years to come._

 _When the dreaded day finally came, when the two assassins-in-training had to leave, none of the three were happy. However, with a sad exchange of farewells, the two left their new friend. If they didn't, their 'father' would have stepped in..._

* * *

"I'm glad we could meet again." Tatsumi said.

"Thankfully we aren't on opposite sides..." Mein agreed with a slight frown. "I would've tried to join this revolution sooner if I had known you guys defected. I only found out a week ago."

"We defected only three weeks ago." Akame said blankly.

"Word travels fast I guess." Tatsumi added.

As Mein's stare turned into an annoyed glare she started speaking, "Yeah, when you're the most famous assassins in the Empire!"

"Infamous..." Tatsumi muttered.

"You know each other, huh." Najenda smiled. "Great. Then you can show her around and show her the basics."

The three agreed with one slight smirk, one nod, and one, "Hmph!"

* * *

After a tour of the base and the surrounding area, the three newly reunited friends were sitting at the dining table, along with the rest of Night Raid. A slain danger beast was sitting, cooked, on the table. Mein was sitting on one side of Akame, Tatsumi on the other.

Mein was staring with disdain at the one choice menu, while everyone else was digging in. With an annoyed huff she followed the unspoken directions.

Lubbock looked to be enjoying himself, but when he looked at Mein he started choking.

"W-wait! I remember where I recognize you from! Your the girl that, for unknown reasons, was researching Akame and Tatsumi. Supposedly you went to great lengths just to get a small piece of in..." He trailed off.

Mein's was the color of her hair, as she shot nervous glances at the two beside her.

Tatsumi's face was blank. Akame was giving a weird look to Lubbock. Mein was send a death glare to Lubbock that promised pain and humiliation. Najenda smiled and laughed, Leone joining in tenfold, in which she ended up falling out of her chair. Scheme just sat there indifferent as if she hadn't just heard Mein getting humiliated. Bulat smiled softly and gave Tatsumi a punch on his arm. Lubbock was sweating nervously.

It looks like teasing the new girl was not something to be put on Lubbock's to-do-list.

* * *

 **With the little backstory I added in with Mein, there are so many ways I could make this Tatsumi x Mein. But that will not happen. Sorry, Tatsumi x Mein fans.**


	5. Moving Along

**Sorry for the long wait.** **I promise it won't take several months for a new chapter to come out. Although break ends in a few days, so there probably won't be another update for a little while. For those of you who read Kill the Deciever, it will be updated either tommorow or the day after tommorow.**

 **Anyway, whatever part of the world your in, New Year is coming soon in the United States! Yay! 2016!**

* * *

A yawn filled silent room as the only occupant stretched his arms. The sun's blinding rays had awaken him, and as he opened his eyes, forest green looked to the door.

He slowly got up, and gave one last stretch before he started his morning duties.

He grabbed his weapon, a black sword currently sheathed, and walked out the door. He looked to the door of the room beside his, and he walked up to it to knock. His knuckles didn't even touch the wood, before the door swung open.

There, waiting for him, stood a red-eyed girl, holding her katana and looking at him expectantly.

Tatsumi smiled, then he led the way to the meeting room.

* * *

"Tatsumi! Akame! Can I have seconds?" Bulat raised his plate in the air. Soon after Mine and Leone asked as well.

"Okay, okay. Give us a sec." Tatsumi said as he added the final touches. He soon served the three and proceeded to start another batch as Akame 'taste tested' the food Tatsumi made.

"Akame pass me the salt, will you?" His waiting hand was soon filled with the small glass container. "Thanks."

"Akame can you cut up those onions?"

"Here."

"Thanks, those carrots too."

"Okay."

"Good. Where's the meat?"

"..."

"Akame?"

"..."

"You didn't eat it _all_ did you?"

"..."

"I should have seen that coming. Okay we'll have our own breakfast. Let's go." He solemnly led the way out, to the forest. The red-eyed glutton followed him closely with a blank face.

When the door closed Leone started laughing. Tears in her eyes and hands hugging her sides, she fell out of her chair.

"This... happens a lot... but it's still so... FUNNY!" She gasped between her laughs.

Mine sighed and voiced her own opinions, "I've learned that Akame's a glutton, but can't she restrain herself?" Mine now wore clothes neat and pristine. Every article of clothing was some shade of pink...

"Well, Tatsumi never gets mad at her so it's partially his fault that she shows no restraint." Najenda added. She was looking, with a raised eyebrow, at Leone's form as it rolled around.

"M-my sid-es hur-T!" She stuttered as her laughing died down.

"This has happened before, you'd think you'd get over it." Mine snapped. A glare from her pink eyes didn't affect Leone, as Leone wiped a tear away with a smile.

"Oh come on! You have to admit it's funny!"

* * *

"A request?" Tatsumi turned to Lubbock.

"Yeah, the boss told me to give the job the you two." He eyed Akame who was staring at him with a chicken leg in her mouth. It was quite unnerving.

"Who is it?" She asked, pulling the chicken out to speak.

"A-a food salesmen who drugs everything he sells. He has a lot of hired help to gather whoever he's drugged. The guards and helpers are guilty too."

"Okay. Tell us where he operates from and _they will be eliminated_."

* * *

The silence of the night was broken by a single step on a roof, then silence. Even so, two figures of black ran across the rooftops without another sound.

The moon was dyed red from the bloodlust both emitted, and foreshadowed death.

The assassin duo responded to the pleas of the victims, and purged the corrupted.

* * *

Two people filed in through the door, startling the room's occupants.

"Akame? Tatsumi? Back already, huh." Leone greeted.

"Welcome back." Mine said simply.

"So how did the mission go?" Najenda asked. She nodded her head approvingly at their lack of wounds.

"All targets eliminated." Akame reported.

Another nod from Najenda dismissed them. Mine got up from her chair and went with them as they walked out the door. Seeing them go Najenda smiled.

"They're getting along as well as ever." She commented.

"Well yeah but Mine's still mean to mean to all of us." Lubbock said, annoyed.

"Give it time. She's had a hard childhood, so we'll have to earn her trust." Najenda replied. "Oh, and Schelle? I think you and her can work together so you'll partner up okay?" She said turning to the purple themed airhead.

"Um... Okay? I thought you'd let her work with Tatsumi and Akame?" She questioned tilting her head in curiousity.

"No, their Teigus don't compliment each other enough." Najenda stated. "It's more efficient to work in partnerships as well."

* * *

Several weeks past and the new members of Night Raid became core members. The Revolutionary Army fully trusted them and no longer doubted the infamous duo.

Mine started getting along well with her new partner, and renewed her friendship with Tatsumi and Akame. She mastered Pumpkin and became confident in her new abilities.

Tatsumi and Akame grew more infamous, as they continued their work. Akame's Murasame gave away who the killer was, when the markings permeated the targets. Tatsumi's phantom killings became more feared, and soon the Empire couldn't decide which half of the duo was more dangerous. The One-Hit Killer or the Phantom Blade.

The Empire's Strongest moved north to conquer the tribe, Najenda knew she'd win.

On a mission to assassinate a traitor to the Revolutionary Army, trying to sell information to the Empire, Night Raid's presence in the Capital was confirmed.

Now, Lubbock has brought in a new mission. A mission to kill a family that disguise themselves as good samaritans, while really being sadists. A family that brings in country bumpkins to torture them for the fun of it.

And everyone in Night Raid is going. Minus Najenda of course.

* * *

 **Finally updated! Finally getting to canon too!**

 **Sorry for the timeskip. I feel that if I kept up with the pace I was going at, I would have lost interest in this story, and, seeing as this is (currently) my most popular story, I'd rather that not happen.**

 **This is the shortest chapter so far. I will make sure to make the future chapters longer.**

 **I really hope you liked it.** **Review pretty please! :3**


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